Date: 2026-04-09 Status: Implementation strategy / Track A follow-on Scope: Define the first Navigator specialty projection for thread-like smolweb local worlds inspired by Cosmos and related cross-source discussions.

Related:

• NAVIGATOR.md
• ../../technical_architecture/graphlet_model.md
• ../../research/2026-04-09_smolweb_graph_enrichment_and_accessibility_note.md
• ../../research/2026-04-09_smolweb_discovery_and_aggregation_signal_model.md

---

Graphshell needs a Navigator projection that treats thread-like smolweb structures as bounded local worlds instead of as flat lists of pages.

This projection is called a constellation projection.

It is especially motivated by:

• Cosmos-like thread grouping,
• Bubble reply/reference structures,
• gemlog citation and response chains,
• future feed/post/reply groupings across sources.

---

A constellation projection is a graphlet-oriented Navigator projection defined by:

• one anchor item,
• reply/reference relations,
• optional secondary related items,
• a frontier of candidate expansions,
• recency and relevance metadata.

The goal is not only to show chronological order. The goal is to let the user understand the local world of a discussion or related cluster.

---

The first slice needs explicit relation families for:

• reply-to,
• references,
• cites/mentions,
• same-thread or same-constellation membership,
• frontier candidate relation.

These do not all need to be durable graph truth on day one, but the projection must be able to distinguish them.

---

The first projection should answer:

• what is the anchor item?
• what directly replies to it?
• what is referenced by it?
• what else belongs to this cluster?
• what is newer, adjacent, or likely worth opening next?

If it cannot answer these, it is not yet a constellation view, only a list.

---

The first presentation should support:

• anchor emphasis,
• relation-aware ordering,
• frontier ranking,
• compact cluster layout,
• clear separation between current cluster members and candidate expansions.

The first slice does not need one final visual language, but it does need a specialty layout better than a generic feed list.

---

The projection should be able to ingest from:

• Cosmos imports,
• Bubble-style posts and issues,
• feed items with reply/reference metadata,
• future Nostr or Matrix bridges where a thread-like local world exists.

This keeps the feature conceptually broader than any one external service.

---

Recommended first slice:

1. one anchor item,
2. typed reply/reference relations,
3. frontier candidate model,
4. Navigator projection state for the active constellation,
5. open/reveal/scope verbs consistent with Navigator grammar.

This is enough to validate whether the feature genuinely helps orientation.

---

• define the initial typed relation inputs for reply, reference, citation, and frontier candidate status,
• ensure the projection can ingest them without pretending all relations are identical,
• align projection data with graphlet boundaries.

• add owner state for the active anchor item and current local-world scope,
• preserve frontier items distinctly from current constellation members,
• route open/reveal/scope actions through Navigator-owned projection state.

• provide a layout that emphasizes the anchor and nearby reply/reference shape,
• support compact cluster ranking or ordering rules,
• keep candidate expansions separate from confirmed cluster members.

• ingest at least one real source family such as Cosmos or Bubble-style data,
• prove the projection can map imported reply/reference metadata into the constellation model,
• avoid hardwiring the feature to one service-specific vocabulary.

---

1. Open a known thread-like cluster and verify the anchor is visually and semantically distinct.
2. Verify direct replies, references, and frontier candidates are not rendered as one flat list.
3. Verify opening a new anchor updates only the owning projection context.
4. Verify the same imported cluster can be reopened without losing local-world orientation.

• projection-builder tests for anchor/frontier membership,
• relation-type tests for reply/reference distinction,
• Navigator routing tests for open/reveal/scope actions.

---

This slice closes when:

• at least one real imported thread-like source can project into a constellation,
• the projection distinguishes anchor, member, and frontier roles,
• and the user can navigate the local world as more than a plain feed list.